NHS England

Regional Director of Workforce, Training & Education

The closing date is 06 October 2025

Job summary

The Regional Director for Workforce Training and Education will play a vital leadership role in the wider health and care system in North East and Yorkshire, as well as working, as required, alongside the national workforce training and education function.

The Director will be accountable for delivery of agreed large scale regional workforce, education and development priorities for health and care in their region, including driving new initiatives, improvements and best practice to support the overall aims of the ICBs and Providers as appropriate.

The postholder will work closely with the Regional Director to ensure that there is accountability and governance in place in relation to senior leadership across the NEY system.

The Director will be accountable for delivery of a national workforce training and education priority as agreed with the Chief Workforce Training and Education Officer.

The postholder will need to have highly developed specialist professional and leadership skills to ensure the level of partnership and collaboration across NHSE and wider stakeholder groups that will achieve success in the role. This leader will need to have high level strategic expertise to encompass delivery against key national strategies, such as the 10 Year Plan, EDI Improvement Plan, Framework 15, Future of HR & OD and the People Promise, as well as any additional mandates for workforce, education and training from government.

Main duties of the job

The principal task of this role will be to provide impactful leadership of the full workforce remit across the region. The postholder would do this by:

Securing strong and impactful relationships with each ICB, providers' workforce leaders and partner organisations in workforce, education and training; Trade Unions and staff networks.
Leading an integrated workforce education and training function for the region.
Demonstrating a clear commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, leading by example.
Accountability to ensure systems to deliver improvements in the capacity and capability of the workforce across the region to meet the needs of the population served.
Leading on a wide range of new initiatives to deliver improvements across all workforce training and education outcomes as defined and measured by the national workforce, training and education function.

About us

Our work supports the NHS to deliver high quality services for patients and best value for taxpayers.

Our staff bring expertise across hundreds of specialisms -- including clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial -- enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.

We lead the NHS in England by:

Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities
Making the NHS a great place to work, where our people can make a difference and achieve their potential
Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation
Delivering value for money

Earlier this year, the Government announced that NHS England will gradually merge with the Department of Health and Social Care, leading to full integration. The aim is to create a smaller, more strategic centre that reduces duplication and eliminates waste.

If successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the recruitment process.

Date posted

22 September 2025

Pay scheme

Very senior manager (VSM)

Salary

£131,301 a year per annum

Contract

Secondment

Duration

6 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

990-NEY-17786-E

Job locations

Wellington Place

Leeds

LS1 4AP

Job description

Job responsibilities

You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.

Secondments:

Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Secondments:

Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Educated to masters level in a relevant subject or equivalent demonstrable portfolio of experience.
Postgraduate Leadership qualification

Desirable

Chartered Fellow of CIPD or other equivalent and relevant professional qualification

Experience & Knowledge

Essential

A high level of relevant specialist professional, technical skills and knowledge of workforce and people management
Demonstrable knowledge and experience of a specialist domain or professional area of expertise relevant to the role
Highly developed negotiation and political skills and awareness and experience of operating at Board/senior leadership level in an NHS environment or wider public or commercial organisation
Evidence of leading one or more successful programmes of transformational change of significant size in practice producing demonstrable and measurable improvements in outcomes.

Skills, Abilities & Attributes

Essential

Ability to build, nurture and set direction through stakeholder relationships across the regional dimensions.
An effective leader who role models leadership skills and sets the highest standards, motivates and develops staff and stakeholders and promotes personal, organisational and cultural development.
Track record in promoting and improving diversity and inclusion and outstanding working relationships.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Educated to masters level in a relevant subject or equivalent demonstrable portfolio of experience.
Postgraduate Leadership qualification

Desirable

Chartered Fellow of CIPD or other equivalent and relevant professional qualification

Experience & Knowledge

Essential

A high level of relevant specialist professional, technical skills and knowledge of workforce and people management
Demonstrable knowledge and experience of a specialist domain or professional area of expertise relevant to the role
Highly developed negotiation and political skills and awareness and experience of operating at Board/senior leadership level in an NHS environment or wider public or commercial organisation
Evidence of leading one or more successful programmes of transformational change of significant size in practice producing demonstrable and measurable improvements in outcomes.

Skills, Abilities & Attributes

Essential

Ability to build, nurture and set direction through stakeholder relationships across the regional dimensions.
An effective leader who role models leadership skills and sets the highest standards, motivates and develops staff and stakeholders and promotes personal, organisational and cultural development.
Track record in promoting and improving diversity and inclusion and outstanding working relationships.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

Certificate of Sponsorship

Employer details

Employer name

NHS England

Address

Wellington Place

Leeds

LS1 4AP

Employer's website

https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/working-for/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

NHS England

Address

Wellington Place

Leeds

LS1 4AP

Employer's website

https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/working-for/ (Opens in a new tab)